By BRIAN MARKS, US ASSISTANT SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR and MELISSA KOENIG, US REPORTER
Published: 05:17 BST, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 08:26 BST, 17 August 2026
Selma Blair was one of the first stars to pay tribute to Hayden Panettiere following the news of her friend's unexpected death on Sunday night.
Blair, 54, commented on Panettiere's final Instagram post shortly after the Nashville star was revealed to have died over the weekend at just 36.
'I love you. Don't be gone. Don't be gone. Please. Please,' an anguished Blair wrote under a photo Panettiere had shared on July 27.
'I love you whale tail my friend,' Blair wrote in another comment 11 minutes later.
Blair returned minutes later with another sorrowful comment.
'I'm dying. Please be here,' she wrote under Panettiere's photo.Â
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Blair and Panettiere to request comment but has not yet received a response.Â
Panettiere's cause of death was not immediately clear, but enforcement sources have confirmed to TMZ that police responded to an incident involving the actress.
'There’s an investigation ongoing,' Panettiere's publicist said in a statement to NBC News. 'We should know more tomorrow.'
Following reports of Hayden Panettiere's unexpected death at 36 over the weekend, stars flocked to pay tribute to the late Heroes star; Panettiere is pictured in 2016
Selma Blair, 54, sounded as if she was in shock as she posted an anguished comment on Panettiere's final Instagram post from July 27; Blair is pictured in November 2025 in LA
 'I love you. Don't be gone. Don't be gone. Please. Please,' an anguished Blair wrote under a photo Panettiere had shared on July 27. 'I love you whale tail my friend,' Blair wrote in another comment 11 minutes later
Blair had previously shared kind words after the Heroes star's brother, Jansen Panettiere, died February 2023 from 'an enlarged heart' aged 28.
